RODRIGUEZ, Marion Patricia L.

1E
L-1800073

R.A. 11036
“The Mental Health Act”

The Mental Health Act is an exercise of the basic right of the Filipinos to mental health
as well as the fundamental rights of the people who require access to mental health services. This
law is an avenue to promote the well being of the people by securing the rights and welfare of
persons who are suffering from mental illness, provide mental health services down to the
barangays; integrate psychiatric, psychosocial and neurologic services in regional, provincial,
and tertiary hospitals, improve the country’s mental health care facilities, and educate the people
about mental health in schools and workplaces.

This law is very significant because it basically screams that HELP IS HERE. Gone are
the days wherein people with mental illness or disabilities are being judged and excluded from
the society. Gone are the days that mental health problems are being disregarded because people
believe that it is just in the mind of the person suffering and that, he can conquer it or heal it
himself. And also, gone are the days where people suffer silently in the dark and cries for help
but no one hears it.

The Mental Health Act is very relevant with what is happening in our society because
according to Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the author and principal sponsor of the law, every day, 7
Filipinos turn to suicide. 1 in 5 Filipino adults also suffers from a form of mental disorder such
as depression, which is very common to Filipino teenagers nowadays. This law is the answer to
cease mental health issues and for it to be an invisible sickness spoken only in whispers.